Elena Gilbert (novel)
Elena Gilbert is the central character, heroine and protagonist of The Vampire Diaries novel series. Elena is the soul mate and true love of Stefan Salvatore, the best friend of Bonnie McCullough and Meredith Sulez, the former best friend-recently-turned-rival of Caroline Forbes, Matt Honeycutt's childhood friend, first love and ex-girlfriend, and Damon Salvatore's prize of possession. She is also the niece of Robert and Judith Maxwell and the elder sister of Margaret Gilbert. Elena was born in the small town of Fells Church, Virginia. Both of her parents, Mr. Thomas Gilbert and Mrs. Elizabeth Gilbert (née Morrow) had died in a tragic and fatal car accident when she was younger. Because of this, she and her four year old younger sister Margaret, were taken in and were raised by her Aunt Judith Gilbert, who is her father's sister. Throughout the series, Elena is called the 'Golden Girl'. In the first book of the original series, The Awakening, Elena Gilbert is a high school Senior, who is very popular, extremely beautiful, admired by all the girls and the object of affection of many boys in the town of Fells Church. Elena is cool, blond and slender; the girl every boy wants and the girl every other girl wants to be. Always in control, no boy that she has ever seen or dated has ever stirred her innermost feelings, passions and desires. Until she meets a handsome, foreign, mysterious Italian boy, Stefan Salvatore. Something completely unusual about the new mysterious guy (Stefan) makes her strongly desire him with deep, profound, intense and indescribable passion, an overwhelming passion and desire that Elena has never experienced before in her entire lifetime. Immediately, indescribably and deeply drawn to Stefan with a frightening and scary intensity, Elena knows that she must be with Stefan under any circumstances, even if it kills them both. Stefan enrolls at her high school, Robert E. Lee High. In the beginning, he completely ignores her attempts to attract his attention due to the extremely intense, profound, and electrifying connection the both of them share with one another. But aside from the immediate, intense, and an indescribable connection that she feels to Stefan, the combination of Stefan's outer qualities such as his quick intelligence, hard-to-get and challenging ways, loner aura, classic romance novel appearance, and distant mysterious demeanor only makes Elena desire Stefan even more and makes Elena all the more determined to be with him. However, Elena is completely unaware that Stefan is a centuries old (aged 500+) vampire who had renounced his living in the darkness and in the shadows. Stefan has spent centuries in the shadows consumed with overwhelming guilt, loneliness, sadness and self-hatred. Stefan tries to start a new life for himself living in the light and amongst the humans by renouncing his living in the dark shadows due to his dark, painful past. He attempts to ignore Elena at first for one reason out of many. Aside from the extremely overwhelming, powerful and intense connection he has with Elena, she also ironically and coincidentally happens to be the near perfect double or doppelgänger of his long lost first love which he has been tortured and tormented over for centuries, Katherine von Swartzschild, who was the beautiful young vampire whom both he and his brother Damon fought over many centuries ago, rivaled and were in competition for her affections. Katherine turned both Stefan and Damon into vampires over five hundred years ago. She then "committed suicide" and the Salvatore brothers ended killing one another after fighting to the death with their swords, because each brother blamed the other for her death (later on revealed to be her fake death). When Stefan finally admits that he is deeply, passionately and strongly in love with Elena, he initially keeps his vampire nature a secret from her to protect her from himself, his dangerous brother, Damon and keep her safe. Due to this secrecy on Stefan's behalf regarding his dark, tortured and mysterious past, this causes some conflict, struggle, tension and distance in their strong mutual bond, along with many other outside forces and obstacles. At the end of The Awakening, Elena eventually discovers the deep, dark and shocking truth about Stefan and his tortured past and the fact that he is in fact, a centuries old vampire who was born during the fifteenth century. Elena finds out about Stefan's identity as well as his dark past after the school's history school teacher, Mr. Tanner, is murdered brutally at the Halloween Dance. The school as well as the rest of the town of Fells Church begins to start speculating that Stefan is the killer of the town and they start to blame and accuse Stefan for the unusual murders. However, Elena strongly believes this isn't true at all and she fiercely defends Stefan, believing that he is completely and totally innocent. Elena begins to believe that the real killer of Mr. Tanner is not Stefan, but Stefan's elder, malevolent and dangerous brother Damon, who has been trying to seduce her on the sly and trying to possess her whole entire being in order to hurt Stefan in anger, jealousy and revenge. Elena deeply and strongly loves Stefan, though, and consistently rejects Damon's repeated advances. Physical Appearance Physically, Elena is described to be extremely beautiful, the most beautiful girl in all of Fells Church. Because Elena is so beautiful, all of the boys in Fells Church want her and all the girls in the town want to be like her. Elena does exhibit a bit of selfishness, pride and vanity due to her extreme physical beauty. This is displayed in a quote in Shadow Souls:'' "I ....don't think it's vain to say that I am beautiful. If I did not know I was, I would have to have never looked in a mirror or heard a compliment. It's not something I should be proud of—it's just something that was passed down from Mom and Dad."'' There are repeated references throughout the series that state that she looks like an angel or "angelic" in appearance (the references to her looking like an angel were first used by Stefan). Physically, Elena is described as having an intriguing eye color which is the same color as a Lapis Lazuli stone (a deep, dark blue). Her eyes also have flecks of gold in them; this is meant to be a parallel to the lapis lazuli daylight rings in which vampires (such as the Salvatore brothers and Katherine) must wear in order to walk around during the day, as well as stay alive in the sunlight so that they do not burn. In some scenes, her eyes are mentioned to have some shades of violet in them as well, as referenced in The Awakening, when she wears her violet colored homecoming dance dress, which helps to bring out the violet in her eyes. Elena has thick, straight and very long hair (reaching above her waist). Elena's hair is quite long in length but her hair is not nearly since Katherine's (whose hair was extra long; trailing behind her like that of a train on a dress and pooling on the floor). Elena's hair is a soft pale gold in coloring and her hair texture is described as silky and smooth. Her hair is said to be a few shades lighter than Katherine's. Elena's eyebrows and her long eyelashes are a darker blond compared to that of her head hair. Her skin tone is described as being very white, pale and fair (said to be similar to that of a magnolia flower). Elena's skin is very translucent, which means that her blue veins and fjords are easily visible all over her body. Her complexion is described to be smooth, flawless, perfect, and translucent. Stefan has stated that Elena's skin reminds him of swans, alabaster or porcelain. Because of her fair skin and complexion, Elena does not tan easily and can get easily sunburned. Because of Elena's fair hair and skin, this was probably part of the reason why Elena has the nicknames Snow Queen, Ice Queen and Ice Princess. Elena is described to have a gorgeous body and her physique is described as being slim and slender. She is of average height for a teenage girl, between 5'3" and 5'6" and Stefan has said that Elena is taller than Katherine (who was described as petite) by "a good hand span". Elena is quite a bit taller than Bonnie (who is very petite in stature), but she is shorter than Meredith (who is described to be quite tall). In Shadow Souls, Elena describes her physical appearance as follows: "What do I look like? I have blonde hair that falls in sort of waves passed my shoulders and blue eyes that some people have said are like Lapis Lazuli; dark blue with splashes of gold. Maybe that is why vampires like me" (pg. 3, Shadow Souls). Stefan has described Elena's physical appearance in The Awakening: "Still, the resemblance was uncanny. That pale golden hair, so fair, it almost seemed to shimmer. That creamy skin, which had always made him think of swans, or alabaster, flushing faintly pink over the cheekbones. And the eyes...Katherine's eyes had been a color he had never seen before; darker than sky blue, as rich as the Lapis Lazuli in her jeweled headband. This girl had the same eyes" (p.26, The Awakening). Stefan has made frequent comparisons between Elena and Katherine, due to the similarities in their physical appearance but Stefan almost immediately realizes that beneath the looks, Elena and Katherine are two completely different individuals. Stefan says that Elena is significantly emotionally stronger and that Katherine was much more fragile and vulnerable. It is because of Elena's physical resemblance to his old flame Katherine, that Stefan makes all the attempts to ignore Elena in the very beginning because Elena reminds him of her, and it brings up old, painful memories of his life with Katherine in the past. Elena's physical resemblance to Katherine is also the main reason why Stefan's elder, dangerous brother Damon, is also strongly attracted to her and wants to possess her. A good summary of how Elena looks would be to say that she has the jewel blue eyes and long blonde hair with a gorgeous slender body. Personality Name *Elena is a feminine first name of Greek origin ‘Ελενη (Elene) or‘ελενη (Elene) which means "torch". The meaning of Elena is "the bright one" or "light". It is a variation of the name Helen''.' *Gilbert is a surname of Germanic origin. The English-language surname is derived from Giselbert, a medieval personal name composed of the following Germanic elements gisil ("pledge","hostage","noble youth") and berht ("bright", "famous"). Nicknames Elena has many and various nicknames throughout the course of the series, and most of them are nicknames coined by Stefan. Elena's nicknames include: *'Golden Girl' (frequently used for Elena throughout the course of the whole series) *'Angel' (often referring to her physical appearance) *'Golden Angel' (used by Stefan) *His Elena (referenced by Stefan) *His Angel (used and referenced by Stefan) *'Love' (used by Stefan), *'Lovely Love' (used by Stefan only) *'Little Lovely Love' (used by Stefan only) *'Ice Princess' *'Ice Queen' *'Snow Queen' *'Queen of Shadows' (used by Damon) *'Princess' (used by Damon) *'Princess of Darkness' (used by Damon) Powers and Abilities |-|Vampire= When Elena was turned into a vampire after receiving blood mostly from Stefan and also, a little from Damon, Elena possessed the standard vampire powers and abilities. *'''Superhuman Senses: Elena's vision, hearing, taste, touch and smell advanced greater than the average human. *'Super Speed:' Elena had the supernatural ability to jump, move and run at superhuman velocity. Elena had used this ability when she found out Stefan's life was in serious danger. She and Damon raced to his rescue. *'Telepathy:' The supernatural ability can communicate mentally with other vampires without physical contact and long distances. It also allows one to probe the minds of others. Elena was able to communicate with the Salvatore brothers' non-verbally as well as Bonnie, who is also telepathic due to being a psychic. This power was substantially much stronger when she was communicating telepathically with Stefan due to her soul mate connection with him. *'Compulsion (Mind Control/Influence):' Elena had the supernatural ability to control and manipulate the body, mind, and soul of any animal or person. *'Weather Control': Elena possessed the supernatural ability allows influence meteorological energy patterns, creating rain, wind, hail, lightning, snow, sleet, fog and temperature changes. *'Elemental Manipulation:' Elena had the supernatural ability to control and manipulate the elements of air, earth, fire, water, lightning, etc. *'Animal Control:' Elena has the supernatural ability that could handle all kinds of wild animals or domestic. Normally, they can only control a species at a time. *'Healing:' Elena possessed the supernatural ability to heal all infections, wounds, and injuries at an accelerated speed. *'Immortality:' Elena possessed the supernatural ability of eternal life and youth, meaning that she will never grow old or age and she is incapable of death due to human circumstances. *'Shapeshifting:' Elena had the supernatural ability to alter and change the physical form of ones self. *'Super-Strength:' Elena had the supernatural ability of abnormal strength beyond that of a normal human being. *'Illusion:' Elena was capable of disrupting the reality of one or more things at once. The power of Illusion is limited, since it uses a short time but because the neutralization of the enemy and does not usually give orders to the victims. |-|Angel or Guardian= As a human returned from the afterlife, Elena was given special abilities that power her aura. All supernatural beings can see it, so has Damon taught her how to control it and circulate it around her system. Her powers have made her blood irresistible to vampires and other supernatural creatures. Later on in the series, it was revealed that Elena possesses these special powers is because she is half angel/Guardian, thanks to these angelic powers Elena and by far the most powerful character of the series. *'Superhuman Senses:' Elena has learned to control her senses of hearing, vision, and smell at her own will. *'Telepathy:' Elena can communicate with Stefan, Damon and Bonnie non verbally, using her mental senses. *'Wings of Power:' Elena has several different wings, all powers given to her from the afterlife. These are her different kinds of wings: *#'Wings Of Protection '''are strong and, like the name, very useful for Elena to protect herself and whoever is there with her. *#'Wings Of Purification''' are white in colouring and can remove all sins of a person and their memories *#'Wings Of Remembrance' are violet-blue in color and can return someone's memories. *#'Wings Of Redemption '''are rainbow-colored and can redeem people of their sins. *#'Wings Of The Wind which are gold in color, were used to create wind and these wings helped her to fly. *#'''Wings Of Destruction are used to destroy things which are obstacles or are possible dangers. * Time Manipulation: Elena, like other guardians, can go back in time, causing the resurrection of the dead, memory loss, and physical restoration of the damage. * Sacred Blood: Elena's blood is the ultimate weapon to destroy all the evil creatures of the universe. It's the only thing that can destroy the Old Ones, and prevent their resurrection. Relationships Biography Early History Elena Gilbert was born and raised in Fell's Church, Virginia, United States. She had been childhood friends with Caroline Forbes, Meredith Sulez and Bonnie McCullough since the first grade. When she around 14 years old, both of her parents died in a tragic car accident and she and her little sister Margaret, were given custody to Judith Gilbert, her paternal aunt who became Elena and Margaret's legal guardian. Books |} In the television series, Elena is portrayed by Nina Dobrev. Elena Gilbert is a 18 year old high school girl who lives in Mystic Falls, Virginia with her aunt, Jenna Sommers and her younger adoptive brother . She is significantly different than her book counterpart. Several differences are parts of her personality, and her physical appearance. In the novels, Elena has fair skin, blonde hair and eyes the color of Lapis Lazuli. On the TV series, however, Elena has olive skin, long, straight chocolate brown hair and deep brown eyes. In the novels, Elena's personality is slightly shallow and selfish but still a good person but on the TV series, Elena is more kind-hearted, warm and compassionate towards others. On the TV series, Elena is quiet, withdrawn and melancholy. It is revealed that the reason for this is the death of her parents, a few months beforehand. Her friends reveal that before her parents' death, she was active, popular and cheerful, and that her recent change in behavior is due to her loss. As the show progresses, she begins to regain some of her 'pep'; meeting Stefan was the main reason for this. Elena has been shown to be very protective of her family, very astute, with high moral standards. She displays deep affection for her friends, and often takes it upon herself to worry about people who don't expect or welcome her concern. Elena is also very stubborn and feisty. She's very direct and prefers to confront people head-on as opposed to keeping her anger bottled up. She displays trust in Stefan, Damon and others, despite their past actions and recent transgressions. Elena is adopted and both of her adoptive parents, Grayson and Miranda Gilbert, died in a tragic car accident (something shared with the novels). Elena finds out that her biological mother is Isobel Saltzman, a 16 year old teenager who gave birth to her, abandoned her and chose to be transformed into a vampire and that her biological father is actually her paternal uncle, John Gilbert, who is Grayson's younger brother. Elena also finds out about her distant lineage and discovers that she is related to and a descendant of Katherine Pierce, the vampire whom both Salvatore brothers fell in love with back in 1864. She is the doppelgänger of Katherine, hence why they both bear such a striking resemblance to one another. Trivia * Elena's first name means "light" or "bright one". * Elena's grandmother kept a jar of crystallized violets. * Elena wears violet perfume. * Elena doesn't eat very much. * Elena loves coffee and prefers drinking coffee over eating. * Elena quit the debate team some time before her Senior year in high school. * Elena prefers baths over showers. * Elena doesn't own her own car. * Elena was transformed into a vampire by both Stefan and Damon Salvatore. Elena received blood from Stefan during their intimate blood sharing moments and Elena received blood from Damon when he fed from her during her sleep (and used dream manipulation to make Elena dream about him) and fed her his blood afterwards. * Although Elena has a connection with Damon, Elena's destined soulmate is Stefan. * Elena is connected and linked to Stefan by a silver cord. This is known as the Soulmate Principle. * Elena is handspan taller than Katherine, according to Stefan. * Elena's favourite hobby is writing in her diary. * As a Guardian, Elena shares the same physical traits as other Guardians, which is light blonde hair and deep blue eyes. * Elena has light blonde hair and deep blue eyes. * Elena's eyes have flecks of gold in them. References See also fr:Elena Gilbert (livr Category:Novel Characters Category:Main Characters Category:Protagonists Category:Gilbert Family Category:Angels Category:Supernatural Category:Humans